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Super tasty Shrimp Chow Mein is easy to make! This recipe uses fresh yakisoba noodles, shrimp, cabbage, onion, and celery with simple two-ingredient flavorful sauce. This is definitely a quick and easy dinner the entire family will love.
Why this recipe works:
If you enjoy ordering Chow Mein at your favorite restaurant, or dare I say Panda Express, you’ll find that this easy homemade version not only tastes better, but it’s super easy to make.
- The succulent tender shrimp is slightly crispy on the outside.
- There are actually a lot of vegetables in this recipe, but they cook down quite a bit.
- Better than any restaurant! You’ll find tons of tips and tricks in my Chow Mein recipe to get the best flavor, texture, and results with this tasty dinner.
Ingredients needed:
- Oil: I use both a stir fry oil that can tolerate the high heat needed to make Chow Mein as well as toasted sesame oil that adds incredible flavor.
- Noodles: Fresh yakisoba noodles work best in this recipe. Ditch the flavor packets that come with the noodles.
- Vegetables: Yellow onion sliced thin, fresh celery sliced on a bias (diagonal), and shredded green cabbage are the vegetables used. I saved myself some work and bought pre-shredded cabbage that also added a bit of color with some purple cabbage and thin carrots mixed in. Minced garlic and ginger also add a ton of flavor. I buy it in crushed frozen form – super easy.
- Shrimp: I recommend using wild caught raw shrimp that has the shells and veins removed. Typically raw shrimp is grey and turns pink when it cooks. The kind I buy is pink when it’s raw and already comes de-veined and without shells – super easy.
- Sauce: All that’s needed to flavor your Shrimp Chow Mein is oyster sauce and soy sauce.
How to make Shrimp Chow Mein:
- Cook the shrimp: Heat the oil over high heat and toss the shrimp around the pan just until cooked. Transfer to a separate plate.
- Cook the onions: In the remaining onions, sear the onions.
- Add the remaining vegetables: Once the onions get a nice sear, add the celery and cabbage. Once those start to brown and get limp, add the garlic and ginger.
- Prepare the noodles: While the vegetables are cooking, break up the noodles under running water or in a bowl of warm water.
- Cook the noodles: With the vegetables transferred to a separate plate, add the sesame oil to the hot walk along with the noodles. Be sure to allow them to cook, undisturbed, to get a nice crisp sear on the bottom before tossing.
- Finish the Shrimp Chow Mein: Add the cooked shrimp and vegetables to the wok with the noodles. Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce and then toss to combine.
Recipe tips for perfect results:
- Shrimp: Press out as much liquid as possible prior to cooking. You want to reduce the amount of liquid that gets released when the shrimp cook. This will give you a nice crisp outside with wonderfully succulent texture on the inside.
- Cooking tips: Toss the ingredients only to prevent burning. This allows you to get a nice sear which adds to the flavor. Cook the vegetables to the point where they get a nice sear but are still rather firm and not soggy.
- Equipment: When cooking recipes like this Shrimp Chow Mein, your best bet is to use a high quality wok pan, however you can use a large skillet if you don’t have one. I like to use two wooden spoons to toss the ingredients while they cook.
Other great stir fry recipes made in the wok:
My wok pan is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Here are some fantastic recipes you can make:
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons stir fry oil or other oil that can handle high heat like avocado oil, divided
- 1 pound raw shrimp peeled, deveined, shell/tail removed, and patted dry with paper towels
- 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 8 ounces green cabbage thinly sliced, roughly 6 cups (I used a pre-packaged bag that also contained a bit of purple cabbage and carrots)
- 1 1/2 cups celery sliced thin on a diagonal (4 medium sized stalks)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 21 ounces refrigerated yakisoba noodles I used 3 (7 ounces packages, omit the flavor packet)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- Add 1 T of the stir fry oil to the wok (recommended) or sauté pan, set to high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp. Toss to coat in the oil and then turn shrimp after a few minutes once they start to get crispy on the bottom. Once opaque in color and fully cooked, toss once more to ensure even doneness and then transfer to a plate, leaving any remaining oil in the pan.
- Add remaining stir fry oil to the hot wok. Add sliced onion, toss to coat in oil, then toss only to prevent browning. Once onion begins to sear, add the cabbage and celery. Toss to coat in oil once again, then allow to cook for a couple of minutes to brown. Toss to prevent burning.
- While the veggies are cooking, run the noodles under hot water for a minute or two so that they separate. Alternatively, you can place them in a bowl of warm water.
- Just before veggies are done, add garlic and ginger, toss, and allow to cook for about a minute. Transfer to a separate plate.
- Add the sesame oil to the hot pan and add rinsed noodles. Be sure to shake off as much excess water as possible. Be extra careful – any water that hits the hot oil will pop. Allow to cook for a minute or so, undisturbed, so that the noodles on the bottom crisp up a bit.
- Add the cooked shrimp and veggies back in witht he noodles and toss to combine.
- Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce, toss to combine, and allow to cook just until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
For me, it’s an easy,fast and delicious shrimp noodle dish. My husband and son raved about. I used a bit more garlic and ginger. Thank you for the recipe. .
Delicious and definitely will make always
Delicious! I switched it up and used rice noodles.
Where can you get the noodles?
Most major grocery stores will carry them in the Asian foods aisle.
This recipe is great! The only modification I made was making it with chicken breast because my kids have shrimp allergies. Velvetting the chicken first is key! Thanks for a great recipe that will go in the rotation.
This recipe is great! The only change I made was adding 1 tbps of fish sauce. That’s a personal thing. Other than that, it’s good to go as written.
OMG! This is the best recipe! I have tried many Asian recipes and my hubby has not really been all in. We long for the good restaurants we grew up with and this absolutely came the closest! The flavors just meld together perfectly. This is definitely in my rotation now! Thank you!
It was so good.
Thank you for this recipe, sounds great and must try it
OM GOODNESS! THIS RECIPE SOUNDS GREAT!
CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS. JUST NEED TO PURCHASE A WOK! THANK YOU! MY FAMILY LOVES ALL TYPES OF SEAFOOD SO I WILL BE TRYING ALL OF YOUR SEAFOOD RECIPES ๐
It is great. Made it a few days ago and my 11 year old son said, this is incredible. I did improvise a little because I could not find yokisabi noodles. I used Cantonese noodles and cooked them all the way. The sesame seed oil smells amazing as soon as you put in the pan. And I did use more to get my noodles looking good before mixing it all back together. But, it was top-notch eating. It is hard to mess this recipe up.
Great feedback and suggestions. Thank you and I’m glad you liked it!
Could you use very thinly sliced skirt steak or tri tip instead of shrimp? Say, marinade in soy, red wine vinegar, ginger, pepper and sesame oil then dredge in cornstarch just before searing? It seems this could be a versatile recipe…
Absolutely!